Islam and Sectarianism

Pieter-Jan Dockx

Pieter-Jan Dockx

The
counterinsurgency efforts intended to remove ISIS from the country are
accompanied by a high degree of violence and repression aimed at the Sunni
community. While violence is attributed to all groups fighting ISIS, the most
prominent actor targeting the Sunni population is the Popular Mobilisation
Forces (PMF), an umbrella organisation of predominantly Shia militias under the
authority of the Iraqi state but with strong ties to Iran....

Dr Raza Khan

Dr Raza Khan

Ethnic conflict
is particularly likely in states in which ethnic groups are inadequately
represented in the government and the political and judicial systems. Liberal
democracies that focus on the ideals of pluralism, individualism, inclusion,
political debate, and near consensus among all participants are less likely to
experience rebellion or uprisings.....

Rahul Manchanda

Rahul Manchanda

Economics and
human practicality have finally triumphed over backwards superstition and
religious dogma underlying the Sunni-Shia conflict, which has caused 100s of millions
of unnecessary deaths, war, global terrorism, and destruction over the past few
hundred years....

Zena Tahhan

Zena Tahhan

In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Israeli army is
responsible for controlling the lives of more than three million Palestinians
through hundreds of checkpoints, raids of villages and homes, trial of
civilians in military courts, demolition of homes, suppression of protests, and
the killing and injuring of civilians, to name a few. ...

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Despite the high security alert and arrangements, the devastating
terrorist attack has exposed gaping holes in the security apparatus, and in the
Government's claims of having neutralized terrorism in the tribal areas....

Ramin Jahanbegloo

Ramin Jahanbegloo

But now, rising anti-Shiite sentiment prevalent across social media in
the Gulf states and anti-Iran media messaging will erode what little is left of
Iranian soft power. Salafist Jihadism will fuel new recruits — not only
satisfied with targeting Shiites, but also Iranian interests. The recent Tehran
attacks indicate that the sectarian rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is
far from over....

Adnan Abu Zeed

Adnan Abu Zeed

The United States and Iran have coexisted in Iraq since 2003, and this
is likely to continue unhindered. On the basis of respect for sovereignty and
non-interference in internal affairs, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — Sunni countries
— are expected to give Iraq a chance to be an honest mediator to solve problems
between them and Iran....

Turki Aldakhil

Turki Aldakhil

The problem though lies within Shiite and Sunni
extremism. It lies in belonging to Iran and in the holy sanctification of
concepts related to the governance of the jurist and in claiming there is a “Muslims’
consensus over believing in the Imam Mahdi.” The latter was claimed by Hassan
Nasrallah during his most recent speech. The dispute about Imam Mahdi is
well-known in both Sunni and Shiite legacies, and anyone who is well-acquainted
with Islamic legacy knows that…..

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

The attack on labourers is an act of desperation from the Baloch
separatist as their struggle for a sovereign nation has been losing tempo with
the recent surrenders of their cadres. Around 500 militants belonging to
different banned Baloch militant outfits surrendered to authorities on April
21, 2017....

Yasser Latif Hamdani

Yasser Latif Hamdani

Jinnah’s public pronouncement buried the issue for a time but it came
back full force after his death in form of the Anti-Ahmadiyya movement started
by Majlis-e-Ahrar in 1949. This led to the 1953 Martial Law in Lahore and the
disturbances which led to the downfall of Pakistan’s constitutional order. In
1974 Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto sought to resolve the issue by declaring Ahmadis
Non-Muslim or so he thought.....

Lutful Islam

Lutful Islam

But when it comes to murders, both the target killings and vigilante actions are commonly attributed to the more militant organisations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, named after Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, a notorious anti-Shia cleric. It seems to be the main group responsible for Ahmadi and Shia killings across Pakistan. There is a whole spectrum of Deobandi groups, ranging from hard-line Taliban to the Punjab based Ahle-Sunnat-wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) which are known to have instigated or perpetrated violence against Ahmadis on a regular basis....

Zaigham Abbas

Cosmic war divides the world into good and evil, us and them. We do not have a middle ground; we have to choose a side. The terrorist groups like TTP, LeJ, LeT, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar have clearly chosen their sides. They aligned themselves with the forces of “good” that has been assigned a duty to destroy all those Pakistanis who are allies of “evil” (democracy, music, dance; art, culture and above all America)....

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

Apart from the
recent suicide attacks, the broad trend of decline in sectarian incidents has
given some relief to locals. This has, however, come at the cost of a
simultaneous increase in terrorist and militant activities from across the
Afghan border. While the security situation has witnessed remarkable
improvements, particularly after Army operations in North Waziristan, Orakzai
and Kurram's adjacent areas of KP, the presence of TTP and IS on the abutting
Afghan territory have created new threats for the Kurram Agency....

Akbar Ahmed

Akbar Ahmed

"A Baluch
woman dressed in her wedding finery and wearing all her jewellery could walk
alone from one end of Baluchistan to the other end without ever being
molested." Baluch elders said this in response to a query on Baloch
character while sitting with the-then Balochistan's Chief Minister, Jam Mir
Qadir Khan of Las Bela. The image struck me as a metaphor; a literal
sociological reflection on contemporary Pakistan. It has stayed with me ever
since....

Omar Sattar

Omar Sattar

As Sunni
political parties move closer to adopting a unified Sunni stance on federalism
and national reconciliation, and with Turkey proclaimed as a sponsor for Iraqi
Sunnis (just as Iran is sponsoring Shiite parties), sectarian discourse in Iraq
is reinforced. Even though some progress was made on the path toward settlement
and Iran’s influence was successfully curbed by the US and Arab countries, the
absent role of Iraqi national and civil parties on the political level is
likely to serve the current sectarian and ethnic divide....

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

An Ahmadi won
Best Supporting Actor, a Shia won Best Foreign Language Film, a woman won the
Best Actress – if this is not a declaration of war against our sensibilities,
what is? By highlighting Ahmadis, homosexuals, and women as representatives of
Muslims, they’re trying to marginalise the Sunni Muslim straight men. Fun fact:
Ahmadi actors now have 1 Oscar win, compared to zero for Sunni Muslims. But do
not expect anyone in the West to create hashtags to underscore our plight....

Kashif Chaudhry

Kashif Chaudhry

Despite his
extraordinary feat at the Oscars, many prominent Muslim activists refrained
from celebrating Mahershala, with some even issuing outright condemnations
because of his beliefs. Mahershala also identifies as an Ahmadi, a sect that
faces severe persecution at the hands of Sunni supremacists across the Muslim
world. ...

Raza Habib Raja

Raza Habib Raja

Every time
there is a blast in the country, the ethnicity which gets the spotlight is the
Pakhtuns, along with the Afghans. Over the years, the Pakistani public has
developed kneejerk hatred against the Afghan Pakhtuns, which has permeated our
cultural zeitgeist. There are news of incidents where even ordinary warnings
issued by normal law and enforcement agencies openly draw the focus towards
them, and reinforce the prevalent stereotypical views. ....

Tesneem Alkiek

Tesneem Alkiek

Religious
minorities are often depicted as oppressed and vulnerable victims of their
Muslim rulers. This portrayal, however, is far from accurate. This brief paper
seeks to reorient our understanding of the rights and responsibilities
religious minorities possessed under Muslim rule....

Arshad Alam, New Age Islam

Arshad Alam, New Age Islam

Isn’t it known for a fact that Salafi madrasas equate visitations to
shrines as grave worship and therefore consider majority of South Asian Muslims
as potential idolaters? The same hate is being peddled in the name of Islamic
literature through cheap publications and sermons on televisions. Acts like
bombing shrines are a direct result of what is going on in our homes, our
schools and in our neighbourhood. There cannot be any dispassionate discussion
on the causes of such brutality without asking tough questions about ourselves
as to how our own hate mongering about different maslaks (sects) have acquired
a new normality within our everyday discourses.....

Hatem Bazian

Hatem Bazian

I would like to situate the current period by referencing prophetic
traditions that should provide a metaphysical grounding for what is being
experienced. In a prophetic Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, it is reported that
the Prophet Muhammad said, "Time will pass rapidly, good deeds will
decrease, miserliness will be thrown (in the hearts of the people), afflictions
will appear and there will be much 'al-Harj." They said, "O Allah's
Apostle! What is "al-Harj?" He said, "Killing! Killing!"
Another prophetic Hadith states, "Islam will be fought with Islam."
If taken together with the first one, then it can provide a better grounding to
the crisis underway….

Tufail Ahmad, New Age Islam

Tufail Ahmad, New Age Islam

Till 1924, the Islamic world was led by the Ottoman Caliph based in
Turkey. During the First World War (1914-1918), the Turkey-led Caliphate began
disintegrating. Around this time, Indian Muslims led by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Jauhar and his brother Maulana Shaukat Ali as well as Mahatma Gandhi and
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad supported the Khilafat Movement for the restoration of
the Caliphate, something the ISIS is trying to revive now. The Arab nations,
having been mistreated by the Ottoman caliph, disliked Maulana Azad for
supporting Turks, though he was respected for his scholarship.....

Altaf Khan

Pakistani society is still marred by racism and questions of caste,
even among Muslims, despite the Qur’an setting out radical equality for all.
Across South Asia, Muslims remain divided up by various hierarchical systems.
This long trail of caste-related injustice goes back to the beginnings of sub
continental societies and seems impervious to the intrusion of other sources of
identity such as the nation state or religion....

Yasser Latif Hamdani

Yasser Latif Hamdani

Most significantly blasphemy is a tazir offence and not a Hadd offence
under Islamic law. No religious scholar of Islam will tell you otherwise. This
is because the Holy Quran does not prescribe a punishment for blasphemy. This
in itself makes the whole issue of blasphemy law a discretionary measure and
not binding for a Muslim state to follow. The majority view in Islam has been
for the 1000 years that death for blasphemy, in the rarest and most extreme of
cases, can only be awarded to an unrepentant Muslim male unless he repents and
there is always room for repentance under Islam....

Baria Alamuddin

Baria Alamuddin

“Sunnis were grabbed in the streets or dragged from their homes and
instantly killed. In the first week of the events, militiamen drove around with
speakers shouting for Sunni men to come out of their homes. On Jan. 13, more
than 100 men were taken and have not been seen since.”...